Alfonso Soldano

Alfonso Soldano is an Italian concert pianist and professor, with a solid educational background and stylistic preparation, international career, as well as attention and extensive experience in charity events with a social background. Alfonso is a honorary citizen of the City of Trani, on the initiative and unanimous approval of the administration and the municipal council, with a ceremony and celebratory concert held on July 30, 2020, for proven artistic merits.

Alfonso won his first music competition at the age of 7 in Taurisano (LE), and won numerous other absolute first prizes in national and international competitions (Milan Humanitarian Society prize, Formia, Matera, etc.). He then graduated from the Conservatory with 110 honours and honourable mention (score assigned for the first time since the birth of piano degrees in Italy). As a teenager he made his debut performing Mozart’s Concerto K488, conducted by Valfrido Ferrari, and then, age 16, at the Garibaldi Theater in Bisceglie, with Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 2, conducted by Ovidiu Balan. His artistic growth proceeded under the guidance of the Italian-French pianist Aldo  Ciccolini. Ciccolini exclusively granted Alfonso an endorsement to set up a musical foundation in favour of talents and culture. The Aldo Ciccolini Foundation of Trani was created in 2015, which has promoted numerous events of high artistic standing, in the spirit of social benefit, territorial rebalancing, and support of young talents. Finally, Alfonso Soldano obtained the diploma of High Specialisation at the National  Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, under the guidance of Benedetto Lupo.

Alfonso Soldano is full chair professor of piano at the Superior State Conservatory of Music of Bari. He has been professor in the Conservatories of Rome – Santa Cecilia, Taranto, Foggia, Lecce, Teramo and is also regularly invited to hold masterclasses in important foreign institutions (China, United States, Ukraine).

In 2013 Alfonso was awarded best young Italian artist with the Gold Medal Maison des Artistes in the great hall of the La Sapienza University of Rome. As a solo pianist he has performed in numerous theatres and festivals in Italy.

In the publishing field, Alfonso Soldano has expressed himself as an essayist and writer, with the following texts all published by Florestano Edizioni: 

Journey into ecstasy – Alexander Skrjabin (2010) – 

History and analysis of the Russian piano school and teaching (2010) – 

Liszt’s Totentanz (2010) – 

Il confine dell’Inganno (2015), the only worldwide biography of the Ukrainian composer Sergej Bortkiewicz, a

Alfonso Soldano is one of the most appreciated Italian pianists by English and American music critics, and his solo debut album in 2016 received positive reviews in more than 20 countries, as well as being partially broadcast on Rai Radio Tre (broadcast ” Here It Begins”, 5 February 2023). His second solo album, dedicated to the composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, containing world premiere recordings, was voted in the top ten music albums in Florida and received 5 stars, maximum critical score, by the US magazine Fanfares; the same album was selected to be played on the civilian air fleet of the Sultanate of Brunei. His third solo album, dedicated to the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov, was designated Best Critic’s Choice by the oldest and most selective US music magazine, American Record Guide and Album of the Month January 2021, interview and critical acclaim from International Piano Magazine, the most authoritative English music magazine.

The 2024 seasons will include, among other appointments, concerts in many Italian festivals (Verona, San Severo, etc.) as well performances in Spain, Portugal, Romania, United States, and a new invitation from Husum Piano Festival (Germany), after the success and standing ovation of the 2023 festival’s concert debut, recorded and broadcasted live by Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Alfonso Soldano created an unique event in the middle of open sea, a sunrise concert for two pianos, named Nessun Dorma, held every year in summer in the city of Trani, the “Pearl of Adriatic Sea”, by his Duo Alborada, together with the Italian pianist  Giuseppe Greco.

Alfonso Soldano has signed up for a forthcoming album “My Things”, and new projects are under working.

He lives in Trani, Italy.